Lemon Sage Butter Roasted Turkey

Lemon Sage Butter Roasted Turkey

Thanksgiving may still be a ways away for our American cousins south of the border but it is right around the corner for us here in Canada, so with one of the biggest turkey days of the year at hand, here's a delicious idea for a very flavorful roast turkey that your guests will love. The lemon sage butter gets tucked under the skin of the bird to infuse its flavor directly into the meat while adding extra moisture to ensure a succulent, juicy turkey. The cavity of the turkey gets stuffed with extra aromatic lemon and sage do that the flavor infuses from inside and out. If you're looking for an easy and delicious way to depart from your traditional roast turkey, this is the recipe you need.

Some delicious Maple Roasted Vegetables are pictured with this tasty turkey too.

Lemon Sage Butter Roasted Turkey

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

The lemon sage butter gets tucked under the skin of the bird to infuse its flavor directly into the meat while adding extra moisture to ensure a succulent, juicy turkey.

Prep time: Aproximately 20 minutes.
Cook time: Aproximately 20 minutes per pound.
Total time: Dependent on turkey size.
Ingredients

• One 10-15 pound turkey
• 3/4 cup butter
• zest of one lemon, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh sage, (or 1 tsp dry sage if fresh is unavailable)
• 1/2 clove fiinely minced garlic (optional)
• 1/2 lemon
• 3 springs fresh sage
• 1 small onion, or large shallot cut in chunks

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat together the butter, lemon zest, salt, pepper, sage and minced garlic until well combined.
3. Loosen the skin on the breasts and thighs of the turkey by very gently pushing your fingers between the skin and the meat. Be careful not to tear the skin.
4. Using about a tablespoon of the lemon sage butter at a time, gently push it under the skin all over the turkey.
5. Pat the outside of the turkey to distribute the butter as evenly as you can all over the bird.
6. Place the onion (or shallot), lemon and sage sprigs in the microwave for a minute or so to get them heated before stuffing them into the body cavity of the turkey. Preheating them helps these aromatics begin to immediately start infusing their flavors as the turkey roasts.
7. Tie the turkey legs together with butcher string and tuck the wing tips under the turkey.
8. Place the turkey on a roasting rack and roast UNCOVERED until the turkey is completely cooked. It is not necessary to baste this turkey.
9. Turkey generally takes about 20 minutes per pound to be completely cooked but sometimes an unstuffed bird will roast more quickly. I ALWAYS use a meat thermometer to ensure that the internal temperature at the center of the thickest part of the breast and thighs has reached 170 degrees F. Avoid hitting a bone with your thermometer as this can give an inaccurate reading.
10. ALWAYS let your turkey rest under a tent of aluminum foil for 20 minutes before carving. This step is essential for a juicy turkey; carving a turkey too early can result in drier meat, especially breast meat.

Summer Sunshine Cake

Summer Sunshine Cake

I posted a preview photo of this beautiful cake over on our Facebook Page and asked for name suggestions. Summer and sunshine were two popular themes in the suggestions made by our followers and with such a bright, appealing appearance, Summer Sunshine Cake seemed like the perfect title.

What a perfect dessert this cake would make at a summer barbecue or picnic outing. Take one of these along to your next summer event and you can virtually guarantee invitations to every other gathering in your social circle for the rest of the season. With a simple homemade butter cake filled with layers of creamy orange curd and a luscious strawberry mascarpone cream filling, this beautiful cake really is irresistible.

Orange Curd

• 6 extra large egg yolks
• Zest of one large orange, finely minced
• ½ cup good quality frozen orange juice concentrate
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup butter cut in small pieces

Whisk together egg yolks, orange juice concentrate, orange zest and sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Remocve from heat and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time until smooth.

At this point you can press the orange cured through a sieve to remove the zest if desired but I generally don't bother. I find the zest intensifies the orange flavor even more as it cools.

Chill completely before using to fill the cake layers.

Vanilla Butter Cake                                                                                    

                                                                                  

Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans. Smaller pans will not be sufficiently large. If you are using smaller pans reduce the measurements by 1/4.

Cream together very well until light and fluffy:

• 1 ½ cups butter
• 2 cups sugar

Add, one at a time, beating well after each addition until light and fluffy:

• 3 eggs

Add

• 4 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together

• 3 cups cake flour
• 4 tsp tsp baking powder

Fold dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with a warm mixture of

• 3/4 cup whole milk
•  1/4 cup whipping cream

beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. I warm the cream and milk in the microwave for a 15 -20 seconds.

Bake at 325 degrees F for about 30 minutes. Rely on the toothpick test to ensure that it is properly baked. Let the cake cool in the pans for 10- 15 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Strawberry Mascarpone Cream Filling

To the bowl of an electric mixer add:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup icing sugar (i.e. powdered sugar)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat together very well until light and creamy, then fold in by hand:

• 3/4 cup whipping cream that has been whipped to firm peaks

Finally fold in 

• 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries ( I cut them in quarters)

To construct the cake, cut both cake layers horizontally to create 4 layers. Place the bottom layer onto the cake plate, then cover it with half of the orange curd. Reserve a dollop of the orange curd to garnish the top of the cake. Place the next layer of cake on top and add the strawberry mascarpone cream filling followed by the third layer of cake and the remaining orange curd. Add the top layer of cake and garnish with a dollop of the orange curd and extra berries.

Red White and Blue Mascarpone Cream Butter Cake

Red White and Blue Mascarpone Cream Butter Cake

Just in time for our American friends to celebrate Independence Day! It might come as a surprise to some but 70% of Rock Recipes readers are not Canadian but American. To show our appreciation for our American friends we are featuring this super simple rich butter cake with fresh strawberries and blueberries folded in to a creamy mascarpone cream cheese filling.

So from the great white north here's a red, white and blue cake that would make a fitting and delicious desert at any 4th of July picnic, cookout or barbeque.

Vanilla Butter Cake  

                                                                                  

Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans. Smaller pans will not be sufficiently large. If you are using smaller pans reduce the measurements by 1/4.

Cream together very well until light and fluffy:

• 1 ½ cups butter
• 2 cups sugar

Add, one at a time, beating well after each addition until light and fluffy:

• 3 eggs

Add

• 4 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together

• 3 cups cake flour
• 4 tsp tsp baking powder

Fold dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with a warm mixture of

• 3/4 cup whole milk
•  1/4 cup whipping cream

beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. I warm the cream and milk in the microwave for a 15 -20 seconds.

Bake at 325 degrees F for about 30 minutes. Rely on the toothpick test to ensure that it is properly baked. Let the cake cool in the pans for 10- 15 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Mascarpone Cream Cheese Filling

To the bowl of an electric mixer add:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup icing sugar (i.e. powdered sugar)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat together very well until light and creamy, then fold in by hand:

• 3/4 cup whipping cream that has been whipped to firm peaks

Reserve a dollop of this mixture to garnish the top.

Finally fold in

• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries ( I cut them in quarters)
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Fill only the middle of the cake. Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar and garnish with additional berries and the reserved mascarpone cream. If you would like the star pattern, simply cut out paper stars and place them on the top of the cake before dusting with the powdered sugar, then carefully remove them afterward.